Monday, September 5, 2011

Week #3

In Delmore Schwartz's In Dreams Begin Responsibilities, the story of a young man and woman is unveiled as their child watches.

As I read the short, my attention was captured instantaneously. It is first explained as a silent picture, allowing the reader to wonder if the son is simply relating a movie to his parents, or if he is truly even at a movie theatre. The short seems to be written simply, but when looked at closely it is overflowing with similes, beautiful imagery, and comparisons. For example on page 473, "now coming to their full green and the time when they will enclose the whole street leafy shadows," and on page 476, "The moment before they somersault, the moment when they arch their backs so beautifully showing white veins int he green and black, that moment is so intolerable." Shwartz's language is written beautifully that engages the reader full on. Each line is filled with simplicity as well as in depth language.

While reading In Dreams Begin Responsibilities I almost felt as if the short was written in a style similar to bullet points. Several quick points are made and the facts are thrown to the audience, while others are elaborated on. The ones more in depth seem to be important to the child, even if the reader does not fully understand.

The child is overflowing with emotions concerning different points of the "film". When the grandfather ponds his father's character, or when his father walks away from his mother at the fortune teller. These little instances create uproar in the child's emotions. I think the child is looking on back on his or her parents' story and their gut is turning over has he or she can see the calm before the storm. Near the end of the short, the child cries out, "Don't do it! It's not too late to change your minds, both of you. Nothing good will come of it, only remorse, hatred, scandal, and two children whose characters are monstrous." It seems as if the child has had so much built up emotion and anger for the life his or her parents gave, resulting in a plea for help and a cry out to go back in time.